Day 7: The Cathedral of Bom Jesus, Mangeshi and Shantadurga temples.

After a day of relaxing and unwinding at the hotel, we decided to go sightseeing. So we piled into a car and went to see the Cathedral of Bom Jesus (Good or Beautiful Jesus, in Portuguese.) The cathedral is about a third of the size of the National Cathedral in D.C. and is gorgeous. The inside reminds me of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. What is unique about this cathedral is that it houses the remains of St. Francis Xavier, which are on display in a glass coffin. Legend has it that when St. Francis Xavier died in China, his servant put his body in a coffin and covered it with quicklime to speed up its decomposition. When the body was exhumed it was still intact. This was seen as a miracle and the Portuguese brought the body to Goa and enshrined it in a glass coffin. The body was put on display on special occasions and the last time this happened was in the 1950s when Goa was still a Portuguese colony even though the rest of India was now independent. The body began to gradually decompose and this was seen as a symbol for the end of Portuguese rule in Goa, which came in the 1960s. The body is today displayed in a glass coffin and is rarely ever taken out and put on display.

We then went to Mangeshi temple. This is the temple in which my ancestors worshipped. Well, the original temple was razed during the Portuguese Inquisition and rebuilt in Portuguese style once the Inquisition ended. The story goes that during the Inquisition, the Konkanis fled down the coast settling in towns and villages between Goa and Mangalore. One such small village was Tonse, where my ancestors settled and they took the name of the town as their last name. After the Inquisition, the temple was rebuilt and is visited by people from all over.

The Troops (avec un chien indien) at Shantadurga

Mangeshi temple is dedicated to Mangeshi, another name for Shiva. Shantadurga is dedicated to a peaceful Durga, another deity. People visiting Mangeshi temple also visit Shantadurga, which is a short drive away. Both Mangeshi and Shantadurga are the family gods so Heery Aunty gave us some money to put in the hundi (a piggy bank-like box that takes up the collection for the upkeep of the temple and for charity.)

The tired Ray-Ban cousins at Kamat's after all the sightseeing.

After a long day of temples and cathedrals we went into Panjim, the capital of Goa, for lunch. What better way to end a day with Konkani temples than Konkani food? So we had traditional Goan Konkani food at Kamat's where I showed Twiggy the Thums Up trick. Thums Up, spelled correctly, is a local drink that is India's equivalent of Coke. The Thums Up trick goes like this: you take a straw in the Thums Up bottle and move it up and down and the bottle erupts in a fizz. Very juvenile, but fun nevertheless.

Becky (left) sampling Kala-Khatta mojitos, her hair oily-fresh from the spa!!!

Doodle and I getting boozy on Kalla Khatta Mojitos and Martinis

We got back to the hotel and hit the spa and then the bar. The bar at Fort Aguada was awesome and the bartender, Royce, is one of the best ones I have seen. He will make you anything you want, even stuff that's not on the menu. I had a 007, which is a standard shaken-not-stirred martini and it was good but not as good as the one I had in St. Michaels. What was amazing and unique was the kala-khatta mojito.

Blackberry juice+rock salt in a mojito= Goan heaven.